Why? Whyyyy?.... Why are you still here (on these forums that is)?

[Gorth]

Just curiosity getting the better of me. One day I was logging in, checking posts from new accounts that needed approval (for those who don't know, a new account needs 5 approved posts to their post count to get out of moderated status, something that catches a shockingly large number of spam bots, which most people never get to see).

Then I started reading a number of threads, trying to cover those where tempers sometimes flare up a bit or to add some oh so clever snarky remark. Not to boost my post counts, because posts in WoT doesn't count.

Then I tried to remember, how did I even get here in the first place and what has kept me here for so many years. I don't even remember how many years it has been anymore

I remember lurking on the Interplay forums, trying to gather enough courage to register and participate (edit: I was playing a lot of Fallout, PS:T and BG2 at the time), but then the proverbial **** hit the fan before I got my finger out of the warming embrace it was placed in. Lo and behold, the guys from Black Isle had started a new site and a new forum. Lurking for another 2 weeks, I finally bit the bullet and registered (and got a lot of funny remarks for my member number which the forum software showed next to your avatars at the time, 666).

I remember getting into some at times vicious flame wars with Bioware fanboys at the time, who were mightily upset that Obsidian were doing Kotor2 and NWN2. Still surprised I didn't get banned then, I was not being gentle *cough* *cough* No sir (some of them got dragged away, frothing at the mouth while yelling obscenities at me). Watched people come and go. Mostly active in the gaming section and the game specific forums. I was way more a gamer then than I am today.

Sort of sad when it feels like a novelty posting in the what are playing now thread

I think what keeps me coming back is the sense of "community". Something reassuring about old, familiar faces. People whose quirks you know. So much stuff got rehashed and discussed to death that subjects like religion doesn't even happen anymore. Most people knows where other people stand on such subjects. Good thing we can get the little odd global crisis and end of the world scenario so there is something new to discuss (total nuclear war has been cancelled because of lack of participation).

Anyway, just and old guy reminiscing. Hanging around because I like you guys and girls. Not because of any particular game, thread or subject (not anymore that is).

So, why are *you* hanging around these forums?

[uuuhhii]

why would anyone waste hours per day on any forum

pretty much always loneliness and frustration

[Hurlshort]

It started off pretty innocently. I was a big fan of NWN and registered when I heard they were developing the sequel. But I didn't really join the community until I finished KotOR II and was like...this is the ending? What the heck happened? I immediately logged into Obsidian's forum to find answers, and was surprised to find them! 

Then I found a thread on the TV show LOST, and found even more answers. Plus some guys were talking hockey. Honestly there are some real oldie but goodie threads that just pulled me on. 

Look at this crazy one: 

More than 16 years later and we finally have BG3.

 

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

I honestly have no idea.

[BruceVC]

45 minutes ago, Gorth said:

Just curiosity getting the better of me. One day I was logging in, checking posts from new accounts that needed approval (for those who don't know, a new account needs 5 approved posts to their post count to get out of moderated status, something that catches a shockingly large number of spam bots, which most people never get to see).

Then I started reading a number of threads, trying to cover those where tempers sometimes flare up a bit or to add some oh so clever snarky remark. Not to boost my post counts, because posts in WoT doesn't count.

Then I tried to remember, how did I even get here in the first place and what has kept me here for so many years. I don't even remember how many years it has been anymore

I remember lurking on the Interplay forums, trying to gather enough courage to register and participate (edit: I was playing a lot of Fallout, PS:T and BG2 at the time), but then the proverbial **** hit the fan before I got my finger out of the warming embrace it was placed in. Lo and behold, the guys from Black Isle had started a new site and a new forum. Lurking for another 2 weeks, I finally bit the bullet and registered (and got a lot of funny remarks for my member number which the forum software showed next to your avatars at the time, 666).

I remember getting into some at times vicious flame wars with Bioware fanboys at the time, who were mightily upset that Obsidian were doing Kotor2 and NWN2. Still surprised I didn't get banned then, I was not being gentle *cough* *cough* No sir (some of them got dragged away, frothing at the mouth while yelling obscenities at me). Watched people come and go. Mostly active in the gaming section and the game specific forums. I was way more a gamer then than I am today.

Sort of sad when it feels like a novelty posting in the what are playing now thread

I think what keeps me coming back is the sense of "community". Something reassuring about old, familiar faces. People whose quirks you know. So much stuff got rehashed and discussed to death that subjects like religion doesn't even happen anymore. Most people knows where other people stand on such subjects. Good thing we can get the little odd global crisis and end of the world scenario so there is something new to discuss (total nuclear war has been cancelled because of lack of participation).

Anyway, just and old guy reminiscing. Hanging around because I like you guys and girls. Not because of any particular game, thread or subject (not anymore that is).

So, why are *you* hanging around these forums?

Excellent post Gorthfuscious and these types of questions I always find pertinent when we reflect on certain societal questions like " why do people enjoy and participate in Internet forums and what is the most effective role social media should play in civil society " 

Anyway the answers to these types of questions matter in different ways and sometimes the work we do requires us to understand general " Internet behavior "  for marketing, sales and ideological influence

But going back to your question, why this forum?

Several reasons for me that include 

• I like the Moderation policy and think the moderators are very fair and encourage a culture of robust debate. I  was use to being " banned " from most casual forums I use to frequent yet I have been active on this forum for more or less 10 years which is a record for me 
• Due to limited available  time in RL  I decided  several years ago  to only participate in  1-2 non-work related Internet forums and this is one of them primarily due to relevant posts around certain topics that matter to me 
• I enjoy the various anecdotal stories and posts that people share around real lived experiences and peoples personal views on many topics . Irrespective if I agree with them I do find  many debates both interesting and entertaining. For example when you shared that link around the Oz banks it allowed me to understand ,from an Oz perspective,  this global view around unfair, at times , " bank bashing " which  cannot be ignored as public sentiment can drive political change which can lead to government overreach 
• And then the general gaming feedback is excellent and informative. Its always interesting to get views on games and get peoples opinions on gaming mechanics and the reviews of games

 

 

 

[BruceVC]

19 minutes ago, KaineParker said:

I honestly have no idea.

Arent you concerned  you cant articulate why you spend time on any particular forum?

[ComradeYellow]

The Outer Worlds brought me here, and I've pretty much enjoyed Obsidian games since KOTOR 2 (for the most part) so I figured hey why not.

The thing is though not much people attend internet forums anymore, most people are on social media so the result is that you have a bunch of old timers stuck in the old days attending such places.  Like nobody uses GOG (it's has a sliver market share) yet it's quite popular with a lot of old timers for instance, like a cult thing.

[Gromnir]

is fitting that a bad scene from a bad movie offers our best answer to gorth's query.

HA! Good Fun!

 

[kirottu]

2 hours ago, Hurlshot said:

It started off pretty innocently. I was a big fan of NWN and registered when I heard they were developing the sequel.

Fan of NWN? I always knew you weren't to be trusted.

Edit: Wait... Since it's impossible for NWN to have more than one fan, is Volourn your alt? He is, isn't he? The truth finally comes out! 

Edited November 23, 2020 by kirottu

[Guard Dog]

I came in with KOTOR II. I was around on the old Black Isle forum but only a little. I was in the NWN forums all the time with Volo, Gromnir and others from BI. When I got here and saw a lot of familiar names is was cool. Most are long gone now. 

What keeps me? Interesting conversation. There is a pretty broad range of opinions here. Half the posters are from outside the USA and that is a plus. I like hearing about what's doing elsewhere. And an ousider's perspective on the US is always interesting. Most forums self segregate into opinion echo chambers or a bomb throwing range. That never happened here. It's pretty rare. 

[BruceVC]

2 hours ago, ComradeMaster said:

 

The thing is though not much people attend internet forums anymore, most people are on social media so the result is that you have a bunch of old timers stuck in the old days attending such places.  Like nobody uses GOG (it's has a sliver market share) yet it's quite popular with a lot of old timers for instance, like a cult thing.

Once again I have to disagree with your views on certain topics. For example you dismiss " Internet Forums " as the domain of irrelevant old timers .....just for the record do you consider SM a better medium for the exchange of valid and informative information?

But my main point is there are many types of Internet Forums and many of them discuss topics that are not subjective but based on facts and data and they very relevant and yes you need " old timers " to contribute if you want to educate and inform people because of what is known as institutional\work  experience and life experience. 

Young people and people without this experience quite simply wouldn't be able to constructively contribute towards topics that require this. So I think your cynicism towards Internet Forums is based on the forums you clearly frequent and that has lead to  you being misinformed about the real benefits anyone can gain from the Internet and mediums like forums 

 

[majestic]

I want royalties for that thread title. Gorth knows what I'm talking about.

2 hours ago, Gromnir said:

is fitting that a bad scene from a bad movie offers our best answer to gorth's query.

HA! Good Fun!

I'm not sure that scene is bad as much as it is badly executed. Although that might be the same. The intention was, I guess, to show Neo finally becoming the Übermensch. He rejects Smith's proposed reasons, his own, everything, and finally says: Because I choose to. Then he plays Jesus in Gethsemane and wins in the only way possible, by taking himself out of the equation that Smith is supposed to balance.

No, wait, you're right. Terrible movie(s), terrible scene. Leave it to the Wachowski brothers (or were they sisters at this point already?) to mess up a Cyberpunkish sci-fi thriller by creating two sequels filled with philosophical and religious allegory to the point where it becomes a confused mess of nonsense.

[Gorth]

57 minutes ago, majestic said:

I want royalties for that thread title. Gorth knows what I'm talking about.

Your lawyers and my lawyers. The dark alley at 2am. Pistols only...

[Raithe]

I wandered into the depths of the abyssal horrors here when Alpha Protocol was in the works. I'd been playing the games long before, but I never really focused on the process of development in them until I'd seen some of Obsidians teasers into what was going on, the conversational trees and choice and consequences as part of what AP would be. Then the news of it's delay and I wandered into the forums to see related news and keep track of things.

Then I got to make a few snarky comments and watch Wals and various Soviet Comrades snipe back and forth.

Now I simply get to revel in the fact that I win the leaderboard most days with my non-gaming posts....

 

[Pidesco]

Partly I'm still here cause I'm a mod, partly inertia, partly because I still very much enjoy Obsidian's games.

The heyday of the boards to me was when people like metadigital, allanschu, llyranor/nickiam, dark_raven, darque, thepixiesrock, musopticon, baley, launch, hades or schmart were around. That's when I had a lot of fun just posting, both here and at the other place. Things were fun, felt fastpaced, and hijinks were had. Among the leftovers from that time are people like me, Gorth, Gromnir, kirottu, Guard Dog, hurlshot, Amentep, humanoid, malc, shadysands, numbersman, gorgon and others I'm not remembering. A lot of these have been around as long as I have. Some were even regular posters in the BIS days, where I only lurked.

 

Anyway I am old, and I have an enduring emotional connection to this place and Obsidian itself, so I am here. Also, sometimes I get loot from Obsidian, which nowadays is a source of angst for my kid, because he wishes he could get Fortnite stuff from Epic Games. That's certainly a perk.

[Sarex]

Well I haven't been here as far back as you guys, for the better as I doubt I would have had anything of value to add back then (I'm unsure if I still do), but I mostly joined for the discussion on the "spiritual successor" of the Infinity Engine games and trying to talk some sense in to people regarding it.

Nowadays I don't go outside of the Obsidian Community section, but then again I don't play games nearly as much as I used to. As for why am I still here...Why not, there are a lot of interesting people around here with their own opinions and it's nice to hear a different opinion.

[Guard Dog]

A lot of colorful characters have drifted in and out of here over the years. And I know of three that passed away while active members. All three were good people. Even if one was a merciless troll, he was still a good dude at heart! 

[Raithe]

18 minutes ago, Guard Dog said:

A lot of colorful characters have drifted in and out of here over the years. And I know of three that passed away while active members. All three were good people. Even if one was a merciless troll, he was still a good dude at heart! 

The flip side to that is the question of how many kids have been produced by forum members over the years, and the odds of them becoming gamers who lurk on forums in the next  x years....

[BruceVC]

22 minutes ago, Guard Dog said:

A lot of colorful characters have drifted in and out of here over the years. And I know of three that passed away while active members. All three were good people. Even if one was a merciless troll, he was still a good dude at heart! 

Who has passed away from a members perspective, I assume this is members from the older  days ?

[Guard Dog]

12 minutes ago, BruceVC said:

Who has passed away from a members perspective, I assume this is members from the older  days ?

Sand/Hades, Keleverin, & Tarna. You should have been around for Tarna. Hades was the troll. But they were good dudes and all way too young to go. 

[Amentep]

9 hours ago, Gorth said:

So, why are *you* hanging around these forums?

 

[Guest]

I used to be quite active on LucasForums (RIP) thanks to KotOR. Pretty sure I registered here almost as soon as the forums were announced due to overwhelming excitement for KotORII. Been here waiting for new game announcements ever since :)

[Hurlshort]

7 hours ago, kirottu said:

Fan of NWN? I always knew you weren't to be trusted.

Edit: Wait... Since it's impossible for NWN to have more than one fan, is Volourn your alt? He is, isn't he? The truth finally comes out! 

Whoa whoa, Volo is a fan of the NWN OC, and that is weird. I guess I should have said I was a big fan of the NWN toolset and mod community.

I was actually pretty active in a project called A Land Far Away, which was a multi-server persistent world. I tried to help build the Luskan server, but I was pretty terrible at development. I haven't check on that project in a decade, and it looks like it is still going!

[Pidesco]

18 minutes ago, Achilles said:

I used to be quite active on LucasForums (RIP) thanks to KotOR. Pretty sure I registered here almost as soon as the forums were announced due to overwhelming excitement for KotORII. Been here waiting for new game announcements ever since

You were here a few months after the forums got started. If you check your profile you can find your join date, and if you check your username number you can see how small it is(yours is 1981).

The forums started February 2004, on the 7th. Gromnir, Amentep and I are some of the ones still active who actually joined on the first day. I wonder if there are full blown lurkers still around. Mr Brown perhaps?

[Guest]

21 minutes ago, Hurlshot said:

Whoa whoa, Volo is a fan of the NWN OC, and that is weird. I guess I should have said I was a big fan of the NWN toolset and mod community.

I must be the alt, in that case. I don't think the OC was as amazing as MotB, but I do think it's very good and under-rated.

8 minutes ago, Pidesco said:

You were here a few months after the forums got started. If you check your profile you can find your join date, and if you check your username number you can see how small it is(yours is 1981).

The forums started February 2004, on the 7th. Gromnir, Amentep and I are some of the ones still active who actually joined on the first day. I wonder if there are full blown lurkers still around. Mr Brown perhaps?

I must have lurked for a while then

Thanks for the info!

1 hour ago, Raithe said:

The flip side to that is the question of how many kids have been produced by forum members over the years, and the odds of them becoming gamers who lurk on forums in the next  x years....

I couldn't get mine interested in anything other than Minecraft and Overwatch. Seems to have lost the taste for vidya since he started college.